The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 679 Easily resolved
Baiwa's camp was located to the south, only two hundred meters from the camp of the marriage alliance, and the total number of people was less than one hundred. At this moment, Baiwa and Ahmaiti were sitting by the campfire eating roasted mutton, their mouths full of oil, enjoying themselves immensely.

Baiva cut off a leg of lamb with his dagger and ate it with gusto, his beard slick with oil. Judging by his appetite, he showed no sign of being sick at all.

"Amah, what benefits will I get after it's done? Surely I won't risk making this trip for nothing?" Baiva asked while chewing.

Ahemaiti generously replied, "Of course I won't let you come for nothing. Half of the dowry given by the Emperor of Jin will be yours."

Baiwa's face darkened as he said, "The marriage alliance was arranged in the name of my Hami Kingdom. The Princess of Jin and her dowry originally belonged to me. How come now you're taking half of it from me? So I risked my life to play along with you, only to lose half of my dowry in the end... Wait, do you even want to take the Princess of Jin for yourself?"

Ahmaiti said, "The princess of Jin and her dowry were brought back from Jin from thousands of miles away. Giving you half of the dowry is already very generous of me. Don't be greedy."

Baiwa retorted angrily, "Bullshit, Amah, don't push your luck. Even your father Khan wouldn't dare treat me like this."

Ahmaiti sneered, "If you say another word, I won't give you half of that. What can you do about it?"

Baiva, enraged, laughed and said, "You little brat, you've got guts, aren't you afraid of breaking up completely?"

“Unless you’re suicidal, even if you manage to escape back to Hami, within five days, the army of my Turpan Khanate will be at the gates of Hami. At that time, you will still be doomed. Moreover, I guarantee that your father will make sure your whole family dies a terrible death.” Ahemaiti said with an arrogant expression.

Baiwa's face was gloomy. Turpan now far surpasses Hami in both population and military strength, and Hami simply cannot withstand it.

Ahemaiti said calmly, "At most, I'll give you eight more palace maids. Don't even think about anything else, especially the princess of Jin."

Baiva's eyes flashed, and he asked, "If we take Jiayuguan, how will the spoils be divided?"

This time, Ahmaiti readily agreed, saying, "Naturally, it will be distributed according to battle merits. The more enemies you kill, the more you get. This is the rule of my Turpan Khanate, and it will also be the rule of Hami in the future."

"Alright, it's a deal then. We'll make our move tomorrow!" Baiva spat out the last bone, wiped his beard, and got up to return to his tent.

Ahmaiti's goal is the entire Hexi Corridor. Such a large area, even if it is taken, will require troops to guard it. The troops in Turpan alone are not enough. Hami needs to send troops to assist. This is why he made concessions to Baiwa. Otherwise, he would not have given Baiwa a single hair.

However, Ahmaiti is now a little worried. The jade merchant that Jia Huan saved before dark today looked at him very strangely. Could it be that he knows Ahmaiti? It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?

Ahemaiti was a cautious man, and he was uneasy all night because of this. Fortunately, nothing happened until dawn, and Ahemaiti finally breathed a sigh of relief. He ordered his men to prepare to break camp and set up camp, while he himself used the excuse of paying respects to Princess Kangle on behalf of the King of Hami.

It is said that ever since the day the emperor took his leave, Ahemaiti had been captivated by Lin Daiyu's unparalleled beauty at the Fengtian Gate. Unfortunately, he had no chance to see her face again since then, and could only occasionally hear her delicate and soft voice through the carriage curtain.

Getting back to the main story, Ahmaiti arrived at Princess Kangle's tent, greeted her through the curtain, and only left satisfied after hearing Lin Daiyu say, "Rise, and give my regards to the Prince." He then led his entourage ahead to the water source.

The thought of being able to take Princess Kangle into his private possession after the plan succeeded filled Ahemaiti with excitement, and he unconsciously urged his horse to speed up the journey. However, Ahemaiti soon realized that something was wrong, because he discovered that the jade merchant that Jia Huan had saved the day before was also in the group.

During a rest stop, Ahemaiti deliberately approached Jia Huan and asked with some surprise, "Hey, why is Jia Huan still accompanied by that jade merchant?"

Jia Huan replied calmly, "That man was probably terrified by the bandits and didn't dare to go back to Jiayuguan alone. He begged me to take him in, and it was an easy thing to do anyway, so I allowed him to go to Hami with me and then return to the pass with the main group."

Although Jia Huan's explanation was reasonable, the cautious Ahemaiti was still skeptical and said with a smile, "Jia Huan is truly kind-hearted, I admire him."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "We are all people of Jin, so let's help each other out if we can. By the way, how far is this place from the water source?"

"Almost there, about another hour or so." Ahemaiti said before setting off back to his group.

Duan Yong quickly walked over and asked in confusion, "Jia Huan, what did Ahemaiti say to you?"

Jia Huan frowned and said, "He asked me why I took in that jade merchant. I guess he's suspicious."

Duan Yong fell silent. Originally, Jia Huan intended to send the jade merchant away, but he suspected that the jade merchant was deliberately arranged by Jia Huan, so he did not allow him to leave the brigade. He would see if Ahemaiti would make a move in the next two days. If the other party really made a move, it would mean that Jia Huan was not lying. On the contrary, it would be Jia Huan's deception. At that time, the jade merchant would be an accomplice and would have to be executed as well.

After resting for half an hour, the group continued their journey. After about an hour and a half, a lake, or rather a small pool, appeared in the desert ahead, its diameter only about three meters. The water was crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, like a piece of jade embedded in the endless yellow sand. No one knew where the spring water came from. "Water! Water!" Baiya and Ahmaiti's men excitedly rushed towards the pool, vying to collect water.

The musicians and servants in the marriage procession excitedly rushed forward, knelt down by the pool, and scooped up water to drink heartily. The guards, border soldiers, and militiamen watched with eager anticipation, but hesitated, licking their dry lips.

Ahemaiti was already on guard, and seeing the soldiers' behavior, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. So he quietly retreated, and just as he was about to ride away, a towering figure blocked his way from behind. It was none other than Tie Niu.

"Where is Your Excellency, the wedding envoy, headed?" Tie Niu asked in a simple, honest voice.

Ahemaiti's heart skipped a beat, especially when he saw the bow on Tie Niu's back. He felt a chill run down his spine. This big, clumsy man's archery skills were terrifying. He was afraid that he would be shot dead before he could escape ten meters. He could only force himself to remain calm and said, "I'll go to the back of the carriage to check on the prince."

At this moment, Jia Huan and Duan Yong rode over. The former said with a smile, "Your Excellency, there's no need to rush. The desert spring water is sweet and delicious. It's not too late to take a sip first."

After Jia Huan finished speaking, he gave a wink, and Jinbao quickly ladled out a bowl of spring water and handed it to Ahemaiti. The latter's expression changed drastically, and he hesitated to accept it.

Duan Yong was initially skeptical, but seeing that Ahemaiti dared not drink the water, he immediately believed it and said with a gloomy face, "Should we call you Ahemaiti, or Amaheitaiji?"

Ahemaiti, knowing he had been exposed, laughed and said, "Duan Zhongshi can call me whatever he wants!"

"So, you're admitting it?" Duan Yong said sinisterly.

Ahemaiti said in a straightforward manner, "That's right, I am Ahemahei. The jade merchant looked at me strangely yesterday, and I suspected it at the time. It seems that this person has really seen me before. Hehe, Jia Huan, you guys are really lucky."

Duan Yong sneered, "How dare you! You're about to die and you still dare to talk so confidently. Do you really think we won't kill you?"

Ahmaiti calmly said, "Kill me, and Jiayuguan will be peaceful forever. If you can let me go back, the two countries will have at least fifty years of peace!"

Duan Yong, enraged, laughed and said, "How utterly ridiculous! How dare you threaten my mighty Celestial Empire with a mere Turpan? You are overestimating yourselves!"

Amah said proudly, "If you don't believe me, then try me. My Turpan has 10,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry. It's not a weak country."

Duan Yong sneered, "Take him down!"

Several cavalrymen immediately rushed forward. Amahei did not resist and obediently surrendered. His followers wanted to rescue him, but he stopped them all. In the blink of an eye, they were all prisoners.

Baiwa tried to break through the encirclement, but how could his dozens of men escape? They were quickly slaughtered, and Baiwa himself was captured alive. He cursed in frustration, "Amahei, you've ruined me! Celestial Emperor, this was all Amahei's doing! It has nothing to do with me!"

Baiwa's lack of integrity immediately drew scornful glances from everyone.

At this moment, the musicians and servants who had drunk the spring water began to collapse one after another, clearly indicating that the spring water had been tampered with. Duan Yong couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. If Jia Huan hadn't seen through the conspiracy and everyone hadn't rushed to drink the water, most of them would probably have fallen victim to it by now.

"Third Master Huan, what's in the water doesn't seem to be poison, it's most likely a sleeping potion." Man Gui checked the fallen musicians and servants and found that they were still breathing and showed no abnormalities, as if they were sound asleep.

Jia Huan felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this; at least the musicians and servants were still human beings.

Immediately, Jia Huan separated Amahei and Baiwa for interrogation, and together with the interrogation of their subordinates, the matter quickly became clear.

First, Baiwa had indeed secretly pledged allegiance to Turpan. Second, Amahei had indeed drugged the spring water, attempting to incapacitate Jia Huan and his men, then disguise himself as a marriage alliance and return along the same route, tricking them into opening the Jiayuguan Pass and seizing the Hexi Corridor of the Great Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop.

Duan Yong was both surprised and frightened, yet also delighted, because thwarting Amahei's conspiracy was a great achievement. Hehe, I never thought I, Duan Yong, would be able to accomplish such a great feat in my lifetime.

At this moment, Eunuch Duan's gaze towards Jia Huan completely changed, even carrying a hint of shame. He said apologetically, "Jia Huan, I misunderstood you before. It's fortunate that you saw through Amahei's conspiracy, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable."

(End of this chapter)